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The university was founded on December 4, 1950 as a Federal District University (UDF). Due to political shifts, the university experienced various name changes. In 1961, after the Federal District was moved to Brasilia, it was renamed Guanabara State University (UEG). It was only in 1975 that the university received its current name, when the State of Guanabara merged with the Old State of Rio de Janeiro to form the New State of Rio de Janeiro.

The university's first four schools were the Rio de Janeiro Faculty of Economic Sciences, the Rio de Janeiro Faculty of Law, the Faculty of Philosophy of the La Fayette Institute, and the Faculty of Medical Sciences.[4]

Some of the schools (e.g. the Faculty of Law, founded in 1935) are older than the university itself, and were joined together upon the university's founding.

UERJ currently enrolls approximately 23,000 students. They have one of the state's biggest educational structures at their disposal, with 31 undergraduate programs, unfolded in different qualifications, education, and bachelor courses. The university also boasts 40 graduate programs, divided into 38 master's degree programs, two professional master's degree programs and 23 doctorate degree programs. The institution offers 80 lato sensu graduate programs in Humanities and Social Sciences, Biomedical Sciences, Mathematics, Computer Science, and Natural Sciences.

In addition, the university offers primary and secondary education in the Instituto de Applicação Fernando Rodrigues da Silveira - CAp/UERJ to approximately 1,000 students. This unit serves as a teacher training center.

UERJ has ample infrastructure to support the academic and cultural qualification of its students, such as auditoriums, multimedia resources, computer and science laboratories, and various training centers. There is also a library network, Rede Sirius, composed of 21 libraries. The network offers more than 1,000 titles in different fields of knowledge, as well as some rare items, documents, iconography, and the university archives. As a complement to the learning process, UERJ offers training scheme scholarships, including those of scientific and teacher training.

HUPE was integrated to UERJ in 1962 and has become a household name in the state of Rio de Janeiro, not only for its role of providing medical assistance to the local population, but also in terms of its teaching practice and scientific research. With 50 medical specialties, it performs about 1,000 surgeries a month and more than 30,000 monthly medical care procedures.

Besides HUPE, specialized centers have been created to support specific public demands. Some of them are pioneers, such as the Teenage Health Study Center (Nesa) and the Clinic for the Treatment of Pain, which combats chronic pain. There are also Center for Senior Citizens' Care (UNATI), Hypertension Care Clinic (Clinex), and Ricardo Montalban's Outpatient Psychiatric Hospital, among others.

Moreover, Piquet Carneiro Polyclinic, a former medical care center, integrates teaching and assistance at the university. The Polyclinic is responsible for more than 15,000 monthly ambulatory and home appointments, counting on many medical specialties. In its Center for Minor Surgery, the medical teams execute surgeries of little complexity which need no hospitalization.

The health assistance structure at UERJ still counts on other centers that offer specialized assistance to the population, such as the University Center for Cancer Control (CUCC) created in partnership with the National Institute for Cancer and Petrobras (the Brazilian national oil company).

In spite of all these actions, the site of the main campus is still a public health concern, as it is a preferred site for suicides. Due to ease of public access, lack of vigilance and tall buildings with wide windows and interconnected by free ramps, many suicides choose the facilities to jump off. Nevertheless, the dean offices treat the subject as taboo and do not publish statistics of such cases, allegedly to avoid further attempts.[6]